A Hole in the Heart

The junior Democrat Senator from Illinois gave a speech the other day to a Christian group, carrying yet more water for the Democrat party. I don't think they have anyone else on the national stage with such broad appeal and intelligence, and they know it. For many of us it is a cynical exercise on their part, but the man himself still inspires a few glimmers of hope from conservatives that he does understand "family values", which entered the realm of politics mainly in response to a deliberate, often malicious, sustained assault from the Left starting in the 60's.

Sen. Obama (via RCP) talked about the void in the heart of a young man who would indiscriminately spray a crowd of innocents with bullets because he has been dissed: ".....we've got a moral problem. There's a hole in that young man's heart - a hole that the government alone cannot fix."

He also talked about the good accomplished by prison ministries in helping people find a new and productive path.

And he touched on the issue of faith in the public schools, suggesting that American society must find a common ground of religious values to impart to our children, so that we are not forced to choose between the religion of Al Sharpton or Pat Robertson. Yes, our country is founded on Judeo-Christian morality which grounds our laws and the golden rule in our communities.

But what if our children need more? What if parents who can't afford private school want stronger religious teaching reinforced in the schools, not watered down (or attacked) for their children? Wouldn't it be better to allow caring people to try to reach troubled children early with the knowlege that there could be a God for them, and give them a chance to embrace strong moral precepts to fight off the temptation of violence and drugs? Can't there be a better future in faith allied with opportunity?

The good Senator might not be able to take that next step himself, but he has the beginning of an understanding of the importance to many to do so, and he and the Democrats should get government out of the way. Obama is probably the only one who could lead the Democrats in this direction, but he is still trapped in the dead-end thinking of a Benevolent big government as a solution, where the secular religion of "social justice" is like that of the old USSR---no one should be better off than anyone else, resulting in everyone being equally miserable. And of course, with this kind of useless, utopian vision, no problem is ever solved, prolonging the misery. Sounds kind of heartless to me.

The Constitution established, as one of its most important freedoms, freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, and for good reason. That is why many left England and Europe. Here's Obama, attempting to educate Democrats:

For one, they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn't want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves. It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it.

Senator Obama, no one sensible is suggesting state-sponsored religion. Our country welcomes people of many faiths. But as a matter of public policy, we need to allow the practice of robust, life-affirming, effective champions of faith---in our prisons, in our schools, in American society, helping individuals become heart-whole, giving them the choice.

As one leader said to another some years ago, "Let My People Go".